Thursday, November 7 

• Book Fair

Friday, November 8

• Book Fair  

Tuesday, November 12

• General ISC Meeting 9:30 am (Academy Bldg) - Ins and Outs of Academic Testing 

Tuesday, November 19

• Staff Appreciation Breakfast 7 am
• 6th Grade Choral Concert 7 pm  

Wednesday, November 20

• Reception Desk/Guided Tours
• 7th Grade Choral Concert  7pm

Thursday, November 21

• 8th Grade Choral Concert 7pm 

Friday, November 22  

• Thanksgiving Luncheon  

Monday, November 25 

• Winter Sports Begin, CIPPE forms due 

Wednesday, November 27  

• Early Dismissal 11:55 am, No Lunch Served
• Staff Development Day 

Thursday, November 28  

• All Schools Closed (Thanksgiving)

 Friday, November 29

• All Schools Closed 

The HSA is looking for a Welsh Valley representative for the Committee for Special Education (CSE) which is a parent-led volunteer organization serving families of children with IEPs, GIEPs, and/or 504 Service Agreements in Lower Merion School District  If you are interested, please contact Nanette Taraya-Vonk at ntarayavonk@comcast.net .  We also have various school events that need volunteers.  Please go to www.SignUpGenius.Com to signup to help.

You are invited to visit Harriton High School during American Education Week, November 18-22, 2013.  Please view American Education letter here.

Look whose talking turkey!   Calling all interested Pilgrims or shall we say Parent Volunteers to help serve a special Thanksgiving Luncheon to our students!  Volunteer to serve during your student's  lunch period or have lunch with your student and volunteer for another one of the other grade level lunch periods.  We are thankful for our school community!  Interested in volunteering, please contact Sandy Blender at  sabrina357@yahoo.com or Mary Copeland at copedem@comcast.net.
Click here for lunch times and menu.

Here at Welsh Valley we are very fortunate. But, there are some schools in Philadelphia that are not as fortunate. The Andrew Jackson School in Philadelphia is in dire need of school supplies for their students. The students in this school are in Kindergarden to 8th grade. We would love to help this school by donating supplies.  Some of the things that they need are:

Gently used books (K-8)
Folders with pockets
Large labels for the folders
Loose leaf
Copy paper
Electric pencil sharpeners
Colored pencils
Photo paper to print pictures
Winter Gloves!!
Winter Hats!!
Scissors
Gluesticks
Bookmarks
USB sticks
copy books
pencils.
Band aids
Hand sanitizer
Neosporin

To get enough of these supplies, we'll need your help. So please Welsh Valley, let's help. Help kids in need who don't have what we have. Collection boxes are placed in every homeroom and in the main office. We need you, and they need us. Come on Welsh Valley what do you say? The collection will run from October 21st until November 8th.
Please check out the  Sign Up Genius! developed by one Mrs. Wisser's sixth grade challenge class students, and consider making a donation as a family.

Due to the elementary and junior high song fests this month, the drama club will meet only two days in November.  The drama club will meet on Friday, November 8 and Friday, November 22 3:15 - 5:15 pm in the chorus room.  Mrs. Vaughan will explain and play music from Once on This Island.  Students may attend one or both of these gatherings.

On Wednesday, TSA began with a meeting during period 10 for new members to join the team.  The last opportunity to join will be on Tuesday, November 12th.  This final membership meeting will be held afterschool until 4:15 in the auditorium.  Permission forms and other important information such as a listing of events can be found on Mr. Weaver's eBoard.  Students should attend this meeting with an idea of the events they would like to participate in this season.  Forms and the $50 entry fee can be dropped off to Mr. Weaver in the tech ed rooms at any time before Tuesday's meeting.  Please contact Mr. Weaver or Mr. Brockman with any questions.

There were over 100 students from 14 different schools who sang at Friday evening's concert. Oron Barash, Kari Stein, and Scott Blender put in extra practice time before and after school to prepare for this event!
Proud Music Teacher,
~Lachele Vaughan

We are pleased to recognize our Dragon Pride Commendation award winners. The following students were recognized by our staff for demonstrating Random Acts of Kindness or Contributing to the Welsh Valley Community. We encourage all students to do the right thing for the sake of it being the right thing to do.  We want to recognize students for good deeds, sometimes with a smile or thank you, other times with a commendation.  But our overall goal is for our staff with the commendation program is to acknowledge students for doing the right thing in the most genuine sense.  The Character and Citizenship Committee and WVMS faculty would like to thank these students for helping make Welsh Valley a better place.

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a "DRAGON PRIDE" commendation for the week of October 28th 

   

8th GRADE

Sindu Soundararajan commended by Mrs. Wisser

Maddie Jones commended by Mrs. Wisser

Bryan Alves commended by Mrs. Keeney

 

7th GRADE

Tula Childs commended by Ms. Schindler

Tenzing Kantse commended by Ms. Smith-Wood

 

6th GRADE

Patrick McCann commended by Mrs. Wisser

Merrin McSorley commended by Ms. Porter

Iam Abrams commended by Mrs. Wisser

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick commended by Mrs. Flexner and Mrs. Rudner

Aurthur Lapont 

 

Attention 7th & 8th Grade students- are you interested in playing a winter sport?

Sports include Boys & Girls 7th and 8th grade basketball and Boys wrestling.

The winter sports meeting is set for Wednesday, November 13th during 10th period.

• Girls Basketball will meet in the lower gym - Mr. Gari (7th) & Mr. Scali (8th)
• Boys Basketball will meet in the Cafeteria-Mr. Scott (7th) & Mr. Philips(8th)
• Wrestling will meet in the upper gym- Mr. Barone (head) & Mr. Lucas (assistant)

Please review the Transportation Policy for home and away games and practices. Please contact Megan Kiczek, athletic director, if you have further questions.  

 

DigitalSports.com Guide   

 

Athletic Director:  Megan Kiczek   KiczekM@lmsd.org  

 

Link to WV Athletics

 

Food Pantry (http://www.stmarysardmore.org/content.cfm?id=330) and Narberth Community Food Bank (http://narberthcommunityfoodbank.org/).  Click here to view flyer.

The Education Foundation of Lower Merion's annual Fall Fundraiser gives our entire community the opportunity to celebrate our schools. This year's Trivia Night Fall Fundraiser, to be held on Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cynwyd Club in Bala Cynwyd, features a full dinner, a wine and beer bar, a silent auction, and a Quizzo-style trivia contest. It's sure to be an entertaining evening! If you haven't registered yet, don't miss out: click here for information and tickets. Walk-up registration is also accepted at the event. Proceeds from the Fall Fundraiser support the EFLM Grants program, from which every school in the district has benefitted. Show your smarts by supporting the Foundation!

C-MITES is once again offering Weekend Workshops at Lower Merion High School this Fall. Classes include Marine Biology, Funky Science, Rockets - Action and Reaction, Chemistry Chaos, LEGO Pneumatics, Science of Harry Potter and Stellar Geometric Stellations.

These challenging, hands-on classes are designed for academically-talented students in grades K-8. Classes meet from 9am-noon or 1-4pm on Saturday, November 9th. Parent sessions will also be offered - The ABC's of Gifted Education and Social and Emotional Experiences of Gifted Students. For more information or to register online, visit  http://www.cmu.edu/cmites/weekend_workshops.html. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and financial aid is available.

C-MITES (Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary Students), based at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has offered challenging and fun classes for gifted students for more than 20 years.  Link to Informational Post Card

We all know that our kids are taking more and more standardized tests, but how is all that testing used? Is it really helpful to our kids and our district? What changes might be in store in the coming years?  These topics and more will be presented at our next Interschool Council Meeting on Tuesday, 11/12/13,  9:30- 11:00 am at the District Administration Building (adjacent to Lower Merion HS) in Room 264. Joining us to discuss this subject will be Mr. Richard Marta, LMSD Supervisor K-12 Counseling, Testing and Holistic Supports, and Ms. Tina Viletto, Esq., Director of Legislative Services and Grants Development for the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.  All parents and guardians are welcomed and encouraged to attend.   Parking:  please note that parking at the District Administration Building is limited. Once the "Visitor" spots adjacent to the building are filled, several other options include "Visitor" spots behind Lower Merion HS (continue right out of first parking area and proceed straight ahead to these spots in the first row) and street parking where posted for up to two hours.

This program provides youth, educators, and parents the skills, opportunity, and support to "speak up" on the critical issues of today. The program also enables youth to make positive life choices as they navigate the journey to become happy, confident adults. Please join us for an event to be held at Harriton High School on November 13. Registration begins at 6:30 and the program starts at 7 pm. The "Breakout Topics" that will be discussed are:   Pressure, "How Do You Party?" Drugs & Alcohol, Creating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships, Understanding Depression, and Self Acceptance

Youth, educators and parents are invited to participate. Read more. 

Learn from the state champs! Registration is now open for Lower Merion Basketball Academy's fall clinics. Sessions will be held Wednesday, November 13 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, November 16 at 1 pm at Lower Merion High School's Bryant Gymnasium. Join 3-time PA Coach of the Year Gregg Downer, current Aces players, NCAA alumni, professional players, and some of the area's best instructors for 90 minutes of action packed skill development and fun. Cost is $30 per session. All participants receive an Aces Basketball poster. Click here to register today!  Click here to view flyer. 

View the flyer here.

For boys in grades 2 - 8.  Registration deadline is Dec. 1, 2013.  For information on PVJSA, the regular season schedule, and commitment, please refer for www.pvjsa.net for all information and frequently asked questions.  Click here for more information and registration form.

The Cynwyd 100 Year Committee is looking for Alum of Cynwyd Elementary. Did you attend Cynwyd Elementary School or know someone who did? We're looking for alumni to help celebrate Cynwyd's 100-year anniversary with a series of events that start in early 2014. We want to hear your stories, record your memories and bring generations of Cynwyd alumni together with today's school families. The Centennial Committee is also seeking Cynwyd Elementary memorabilia to borrow for a history exhibit.

The Lower Merion Youth Wrestling Club is open to children in grades K through 6th.  See flyer for more information.

Online registration is now available for the upcoming season. For more details, click here.

Not sure what to do with all those already-read books spilling from your shelves and closets? The Ardmore Library Used Bookshop welcomes your book donations of clean, undamaged, and current fiction and non-fiction; hardcover and softcover; adult, young adult and children's books. Please, no textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines or VHS tapes. All proceeds from the sale of used books benefit library acquisitions and programs for the community. Please bring donations to the front desk at the Ardmore Library, 108 Ardmore Avenue during regular business hours (M, T, Th 10am-8pm, Wed. 1pm-8pm, and Fri., Sat. 10am-5pm). Thank you!

Come enjoy great food, drinks and dancing and auction with great prizes. Tickets can be purchased at the Library for $30 ($35 at the door) or through the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/8414507017.   If you have any questions, or wish to donate any food or auction items, please contact  danjamie@hotmail.com. The event will take place at the Belmont Hills Fire Company, 4. S. Washington Avenue, Bala Cynwyd. Must be 21 or older to attend. 

Dragonbites is published every Thursday during the school year.  New submissions should be emailed by noon on Tuesday to  WVDragobites@gmail.com  in order to be included in Thursday's email edition.  Dragonbites is intended to publish news and announcements related to Welsh Valley Middle School and the Lower Merion School District.

An Archive of past Dragonbites is available by using the link in the Resource section of this issue or go to the WV page of the LMSD website under Parents/HSA.

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